Educational Science

Coca-Cola Controversy: Is Exercising More or Eating Less Better for Weight Loss?

Coca-Cola has given a million dollars to a new research organization that has pushed a message that lack of exercise is a bigger factor in the obesity epidemic than is calorie consumption. Science, however, still counts calories as the main driver of weight gain for most people. Although exercise makes...

Walking Dead: How Wasp Overlords Control Spider Zombies

Like a mindless zombie controlled by a menacing overlord, the spider scampers back and forth, reinforcing its silky web. Not long from now, the subservient arachnid will be dead, its web transformed into a shelter for the spawn of the creature that once controlled it, according to a new study....

A Massachusetts teen says the Apple Watch saved his life, by alerting him that his heart rate was much higher than normal, leading to a diagnosis of a life-threatening condition. Experts say the gadget — and similar devices — could potentially detect alterations in people's heart rates that might be...

Snake in the Grass! Huge Everglades Python Shows Invasive Issue

A giant python — about as long as a shipping container — that was captured in Everglades National Park in Florida earlier this month has now been euthanized, authorities say. The accidental finding of this snake shows how easily even huge pythons can remain hidden in Florida's swampy south, experts...

Can Sexting Have Benefits for Couples?

Sexting is common among U.S. adults, and although the practice is often portrayed as risky or just bad behavior, it may have benefits for couples, a new study suggests. In the study, 870 people ages 18 to 82 filled out an online survey about sexting, which is defined as sending...

Drones Save Lives in Disasters, When They're Allowed to Fly (Op-Ed)

Robin Murphy directs the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue at Texas A&M University. She contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Hurricane Katrina saw the first deployment of drones in a disaster, setting the stage for such drone deployments worldwide — from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear...

Meat May Not Be So Bad for You After All (But There's a Catch)

Although a vegetarian diet has many health benefits, eating meat may not be so terrible for you either, as long as you include plenty of vegetables, too, according to a new study. In the study, the researchers looked at how different diets affected the types of bacteria in people's guts,...

Vaccines May Protect Kids Against Strokes, Too

Parents have yet one more reason to vaccinate their children: Routine immunizations may reduce the risk of childhood stroke, according to a new study. Childhood strokes are rare, estimated to affect between three and 13 children per 100,000. Yet unlike adult strokes, in which environmental factors such as smoking and...

Fatherhood in Early 20s May Raise Risk of Midlife Death

Men who become fathers at a young age may have an increased risk of dying during middle age — in their late 40s or early 50s, new research finds. In the large Finnish study, researchers found that men who had their first child by age 22 were 26 percent more...